


At Ends Of Nights

by OnlyOneWoman



Series: Aces of Spades and Hearts [7]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Relationship, Autumn, Bathory, Black Metal, Canon Divergence Characters, Chess, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Families & Friends, Glimpses From Wedding, Introvert Paradise, Kindred Spirits, Love, Lowbones, M/M, Marriage, Moving In Together, Nerdiness, Old-Fashioned & Unconventional At The Same Time, Romantic Fluff, Sappy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wedding Night, asexual marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:30:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9944348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyOneWoman/pseuds/OnlyOneWoman
Summary: Title from Bathory's "Hammerheart".Someone - and by someone I mean aro-stova (differentsizesofinfinity) - wanted a wedding and well... it's not really the wedding, but Billy's and Ned's wedding night and a little glimpses from the wedding. I did some research on asexual couples stories about their wedding nights and I loved it. The pressure to have romantic and hot sex on the night after a fucking exhausting wedding is a thing I've always thought to be more than a little weird anyway.And to make my sappy nerds even more unconventional, the wedding night is actually their first night together in their new home. Major warning for cavities, nausea and a lot of romantic(?) Bathory songs I even added links to... <3 (Yes, I thought of you, AshesOfYggrasil)And as always, it's also a gift to one of the fandoms sweetest silverflint shippers, "my captain, oh captain" <3If you're a fan of History Channel's "Vikings" and remember Tadhg Murphy's role Arne, or have seen this awesome actor in another role than Ned Low, "my" Ned will be far closer to those than the Ned Low character. And Billy is definately not a "Black Sails season 4 Billy".





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aro-stova (differentsizesofinfinity)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/differentsizesofinfinity/gifts), [AshesOfYggdrasil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesOfYggdrasil/gifts), [thewalruscaptain (nightly_division)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightly_division/gifts).



It’s raining and Ned jokes that one of them should’ve had a crown. Rain in the bridal crown is said to be a sign of good luck. Not that Billy thinks he could be any luckier than now, carrying his husband over the treshold to their new home. They’ve mostly lived together ever since the engagement, by simply alternating between their apartments and only split up when it’s been necessairy for practical reasons. The last three weeks thou, they’ve lived separate with friends and as sappy as it is, this is their first night together in their new home.  
  
They’ve spent about three months fixing the house, moving stuff and preparing the wedding. Not living together before the wedding is hardly something usual, but once Ned and Billy realised they’d be able to have the wedding without spending two weeks in half-empty apartments and the first weeks afterwards finishing all the painting and moving and instead getting to relax, it was a fairly easy choice. Or insanely old fashioned, as James called it.  
  
Billy’s lived with Charles and Eleanor in their guestroom for two weeks and Ned in Ben’s and Jacob’s basement for about three. They’ve been out to the house almost every day, of course, and honestly it’s not been half as stressful as James predicted. And they’ve made sure to be as invisible guests as possible, hardly ever being at home except for sleeping so it’s not been a problem for their friends at all. Mostly, they just think it’s cute.  
  
Idelle and John have been there, sneaking out the backdoor as soon as they saw the cab arrive. They left a little earlier from the reception to ”fix some stuff”. Apparently that meant lightening candles and, as the newly wedded couple discovers, leave champagne in an ice bucket by the open fire and strew rose petals in different colours like a fucking Hans and Gretel path from the door all the way into the cracking fireplace.  
  
Billy puts Ned down by the end of the trail and they both laugh. Ned shakes his head.  
  
”This is all John’s doing, right?”  
”At least the idea, that’s for sure. Christ…”  
”Was it just my impression, or did the fens bawl more than the girls?”  
”Jacob, Charles and John were all red-eyed by the end of James’ speech and Ben confessed he cried during most of the ceremony.”  
  
Ned smiles and strokes a strain of hair from his face.  
  
”Ben’s been teary-eyed ever since we got engaged.”  
”It’s him and John. So damn sappy.”  
”Well… would me apparantly not so damn sappy husband like some fancy scoops?”  
”He would. And he would also like to get out of these clothes.”  
”Take a shower hon and I’ll see where Jacob hid me laptop.”  
”He hid it?”  
”Lost it, hid it, dropped it. There’s a reason he’s not allowed access to the props storage.”  
  
Billy gives his husband a kiss and goes to their shared bedroom. They’ve spent a lot of time working on the house and now the upper floor is a very private area with three bedrooms and a bathroom. No one’s allowed up there and whenever they have guests, those rooms will be locked. Not that they don’t trust their friends, but it’s far easier and more pleasant to make it inaccessible from the beginning, than having to ask people not to go up there. They love their friends and look forward to have them over, but the extent of both Billy’s and Ned’s need for a private space, even from each other, is sometimes hard to explain.  
  
Their shared bedroom has few furniture and almost naked, cream white walls. It has dark oak floor and splines, thin curtains in old pink and nightstand lamps in the same colour. John almost cried when he realised he wouldn’t be allowed to see it.  
  
Billy goes to his own room to get some other clothes and take up the bags he’s lived in for the last two weeks. He takes a quick shower and dresses in his favourite grey combats and a t-shirt. Then he unfolds the quilt from the big bed and goes back to the fireplace, where low music can be heard. Ned’s already in his room to change and he’s put up the laptop in the living room and connected it to the big speakers, putting on the first playlist they did together. It’s playing Bathory’s _The Lake_ , one of Ned’s favourites and Billy’s come to like it too. Quite a lot, actually. His husband’s own room looks like a metal cabinet and the number one treasure in there, is a copy of the iconic band’s first vinyl record with the misprinted cover.  
  
_The Yellow Goat_ that costed Ned almost nine hundred euros is locked inside a display case and touching it without permission is a crime punishable by death. At least that’s what Billy suspects. His husband is such a nerd and Billy adores him for it.  
  
Husband. Soulmate. Billy rubs the two bands on his left hand. It’s been a long and quite nervous day and most of the wedding is a bit blurry in his memory right now. The ceremony was brief, just as they wanted it, and very beautiful. Billy may have trembled a little while putting the ring on Ned’s finger and Ned may have bit sounded a bit shaky during the vows, but non of them cried, thank God. Billy knows at least he would not have been able to stop before the reception if he or Ned had started bawling. And Ned would probably been a wreck too.  
  
He can hear Ned coming down and he pours up the dry, bubbly drink in the two glasses. Just the sound of the light footsteps in the old, creaky stairs makes his heart jump a little. That sound is not leaving anymore. It will blend in with the one of his own feet, it belongs to the love of life who doesn’t want to change him. Ned smiles, his hair hanging wet and loose and he has a towel over his shoulders. Billy hands him one of the glasses.  
  
”To us.”  
”To us, muppet.”  
  
The chilled drink is dry and tastes very luxurious. None of them wants to waste money – _The Yellow Goat_ is a very tolerable exception – and champagne will probably not show up on the menu again until they have a ten year anniversery or something.  
  
Billy feels a bit thin-skinned at the moment and touching is a little too much. And he can say it. Not only saying it, but knowing that it wont make Ned wonder. They’ve only known each other for ten months and some would probably say the wedding and the house seem to have been hasted. With any other person, Billy would give them right. But when you know yourself and the one you love also know himself, when you both have very clear ideas on how you want to live your life and find a way to do it together, why wait? When you can say no to being touched and know that the one you love, understands.  
  
They play chess, laying on the thick carpet in front of the fireplace, without talking. Ned has told Billy, that one of the things he fell for, was the way Billy could take silence. Ned’s not one to get easily overwhelmed with noises and he’s definately a chatty person in specific company, but he enjoys silence very much. Billy’s always felt awkward with being silent and there’s been more than one occasion the first weeks where he’d felt forced to ask Ned if something’s wrong. Now he just loves it.  
  
When Eleanor asked him why he fell for Ned, for once Billy had not found it difficult to answer. It’s Ned’s sense of boarders. That he never forces himself into Billy’s space without being invited, no matter if it’s physical or psychological. He’s not afraid to ask or telling how he feels and he doesn’t take a no for a complete rejection of himself. It’s very unlikely anyone of them will ever feel the urge for sexual intimacy, but they’ve still talked about it, just to get rid of any eventual situation in the future containing a ”I thought you would change” or ”I’ve changed and now I want you to change too”.  
  
Of course, that’s far, far from the only thing that makes Billy love him so much, but it’s probably one of the most important things. He never has to feel bad, stupid, boring or fucked up for needing a bit more space than most people.  
  
”Checkmate.”  
  
Billy looks at the chessboard, realising he’s lost his focus. Ned smiles.  
  
”Tired?”  
”A bit, yeah. And I feel terribly silly.”  
”Why?”  
”Because I’m so happy to call you husband.”  
  
Husband. Best friend. Soulmate. _Nerd with privileges._ The man lying on his stomach, hair falling down his face and bare feet in the air as he puts the gameboard away. Billy sits up and reaches his arms out.  
  
”Come here, hon.”  
  
Ned’s head in his lap, Billy’s hands in the light brown hair. The soft smile.  
  
”Can ye believe it’s real? All this… Never thought I’d share a home with someone…”  
”Me neither. But it’s ours and it’s real.”  
  
They are real. They’ve created a home together. And the wedding was everything they wished for. Laidback, small and their friends and families had a good time. Speaches from Hal and Ned’s mother Elan and oldest sister Fiona, as well as from James, Charles and Idelle. John cried more than the rest of them combined while James pretended he was embarressed about it when he, in fact, was touched.  
  
They had buffet with roasted vegetable and bulgur salad, cold sliced meat, vegan alternatives for Ben and Jacob and lots of different mini pies Charles drooled over. Instead of cake, they bought a small army of Idelles delicious homemade pastries, all decorated with a little ace of spades in purple sugar paste and lots of chocolate cookies. They’ve danced until their feet hurt and been given a lovely surprise show from their friends. Max performing Madonna’s _La Isla Bonita_ in a body and high hat and John – of course – couldn’t resist on a dragshow version of Eurythmics’ _There Must Be An Angel_. It was just awesome and Hal was probably even more relieved it wasn’t John that Billy was marrying.  
   
They’d chosen Bathory’s _Ring Of Gold_ for their first ”wedding waltz”, much to Eleanor’s and Ben’s pleasure and the parents confusion. Billy was in an awe, just as unconcearned as Ned wheather the song fitted or not. John and Max had been given almost free hands with the rest of the dance music and most of the guests had spent a lot of the time on the dance floor, except for Hal and Elan who took the opportunity of actually getting to know their son-in-laws parent a little, as well as complaining about their weird sons they didn’t want to change but what was this thing with vegan food, dragqueens and a hoarse man who couldn’t sing as a wedding dance? Would it kill them to do _something_ like others? Probably not, but why do it if they didn’t have to. When they didn’t want to.  
  
Billy strokes his husband’s hair, the ring on his hand catching the light from the fire. He swirls locks around his fingers, sips on his drink and just watches the man who loves him.  
  
”You still want to share beds tonight?”  
”Very much, as long as it’s alright with ye. Ye’re not overwhelmed from the day?”  
”A bit, but I still want to sleep with you.”  
”If I’m not wrong, I think that might happen pretty soon, babe. Weddings are bloody exhausting, I’ll never get married again.”  
”Consider it a deal.”  
  
He bends down to plant a shallow kiss on Ned’s lips. His husband smells from schampoo and lingering perfume. The rain still drums on the roof and knowing they wont have to separate to lonely apartments or moving bags back and forth ever again is another thing that hits Billy like an extra heartbeat. They’ve managed to move their vaccation weeks as well and also, for the first time ever, taking some un-paid time off, just to do all this the way they wanted.  
  
It’s unusual. It’s weird. It’s them. They’re not interested in travels and their lifestyles and hobbies are cheap. Time to do nerdy stuff, just enjoying the peace and quiet, is the heart of how they want to live. The money most people would spend on a trip, will be used to just land in their home and not having to care one bit about more things than the absolute necesseties outside their little bubble.    
  
”How about just sleeping tomorrow? At least after Hal and Elan leave?”  
  
Ned laughs.  
  
”Yes, please! Me feet hate me.”  
”I could carry you to bed bridal style too.”  
”Don’t ye dare. But I wouldn’t mind breakfast by the fire tomorrow.”  
”Not in bed then?”  
”Ye know how good I am at spilling coffee. I’d only get us both burned.”  
”Fire it is then. And I looked in the freezer. Idelle made us croissants.”  
”She didn’t!”  
”Oh yes, she did.”  
”God, we really have to invite her and Max as our first dinner guests.”  
”And spoil them as fuck. John and James too.”  
”Pretty much all of’em, come to think ’bout it.”  
  
Billy takes his hand.  
  
”We’ll make a dinner guest list while doing the thank you cards.”  
”Good. Could ye write it down, because I’ll probably forget about it.”  
”I already made a note about it.”  
”I really, really love ye…”  
”And I you. I recall us saying something about that earlier today.”  
”Think we even made some kind of promise ’bout it.”  
  
Ned has his oldest jeans and a washed-out shirt on, looking a bit drowsy and his hair is falling in his eyes. He’s beautiful and has a teasing smile.  
  
”We’re just disgusting, ye know.”  
”Oh yes. And I love it.”  
”Ye think Hal, maw and Fiona found the way back to the hotel, by the way?”  
”I certainly hope so. We paid for it.”  
  
Ned smiles.  
  
”T’was nice to see them get along.”  
”Yeah.”  
  
They’ll have their parents and Ned’s sister over for lunch tomorrow, just to get together all present family and also, of course, showing the house. Fiona held a funny and teary speech at the dinner, as well as reading letters from Ned’s other sister and half-brother and from what Billy could tell, they were all happy for their brother. That is, all except from Phelan, Ned’s father who didn’t even bothered to answer the invitation. It’s sad, but what Phelan Low lacks in support, Ned’s mother and siblings make up for it in an amazing way. The shadow that is Phelan Low, thankfully didn’t manage to cast itself over their day.  
  
Ned’s arms have goosebumps and Billy rubs them gently.  
  
”Are you freezing? Should I get you your hoodie?”  
”Thanks, babe.”  
  
Billy goes upstairs to get his husband’s hoodie. They’re both tired but don’t want the night to end quite yet. An unusual wedding night for an unusual couple. But apart from not fucking, is it really an unusual marriage? Maybe when it comes to personal space. Too many people put too much meaning in the need for time and space on your own. As if a relationship is equal to be glued to each other.  
  
The hoodie is, as so many of Ned’s clothes, a bit washed-out. That’s him. Lots of metal t-shirts, tight jeans with old belt buckles and comfy hoodies. Billy’s style is a bit more boring with collar t-shirts and regular jeans. He sticks his nose in the blue fabric of the hoodie, trying to pull the scent of his husband from it before going back down.  
  
Just sitting by the fire, having Ned in his arms and listening to the music, the rain that keeps falling outside, is pure bliss. They’re more than tired, actually exhausted from the day and they joke about how sexual couples manage to fuck after a wedding day. Ned’s convinced it’s a myth. That most couples, especially if they have a bigger wedding than this, must be absolutely knocked out from nerves, preparations, food, booze and being social with all their guests to wish for anything but sleep once they’re alone.  
  
”I mean, think of it. All the pressure for the wedding itself and then, the pressure to feel hot and horny when ye’re bloody whacked and at least a bit ossified.”  
”Romantic expectations fuck things up.”  
”No shit? We should’ve added ’to cuddle and not fuck’ in our vows.”  
  
Billy laughs.  
  
”You are a romantic, though.”  
”Aye, but that’s a secret.”  
  
Not anymore. Not to Billy. Ned’s leaning back to his chest, the pressure from his back so familiar and sweet. Four years between them don’t mean much when you’re in this age, but Billy sometimes think of the age gap as four more years of confusion and loneliness for Ned. Of crushes, dates and a growing sense of just being wrong. Feeling unfit to love and trying to force a body and mind to do something they don’t want to. Broken, misfit, doomed to live alone. But not anymore. Most nights they’ll probably want to sleep in their shared bed, but there will be many nights when one or both of them has a need for privacy. It’s just who they are.  
  
The music sounds like it’s on repeat and Billy frowns.  
  
”How many Bathory songs did you put to that list?”  
”Five.”  
”It feels like more.”  
”Strange. It’s only five songs in total.”  
”Asshole. You changed it, didn’t you?”  
  
Ned grins.  
  
”Aye. But it’s our waltz… And _The Lake_ , _Hammerheart_ , _One Rode To Asa Bay_ and…”  
”And?”  
”Hey, we’re married! Ye should know the fifth by now!”  
”Somethings with woods, right?”  
”Uh-huh.”  
” _Foreverdark Woods_?”  
”Thank God. Was starting to get worried.”  
”Lucky for you I like it. It’s quite moving. I mean… right now, with this.”  
  
He’s not really sure what he’s meaning, but there’s something undoubtedly fitting with this old music Ned loves so much he spent a great deal of his savings one time to get an original copy from the band’s first album and locking it into a display case. It’s Ned. The man who can get so lost in this music he’s hardly connected to the world while hearing it. Billy’s husband is not ashamed for being a complete nerd and that attitude has loosened up a lot of Billy’s own tension and worries.  
  
He holds the nerd closer, nuzzles the skin on his neck, closing his own body around him. His husband leans in, their exhaustion slowly fading enough to give room for the kind of tiredness that allows the brain to wind down too. _Hammerheart_ is a soothing song, a kind of ballad and the chorus always sends shivers down Billy’s spine. The lyric is far from fitting for a wedding, since it’s about standing on the deaths doorstep – or Valhalla’s – but the song has never made Billy think of death and sorrow.  
  
The lines _”and now you all who might hear my song, brought to you by the northern wind have no fear, though the night may seem so everlasting and forever dark”, ”I ask of thee to have no doubts and no fears”_ and _”there will come a golden dawn at ends of nights for all yee on whom upon the northstart always shines”_ are not about saying goodbye or take leave of loved ones for him.  
  
Tomorrow is his golden dawn in his and Ned’s home. The end of the lonely nights, the literal ones as well as the metaphorical, and some of the doubts and fears they no longer have to carry around. The loneliness that seemed everlasting and inevitable if they couldn’t force themselves to change, is over now. And whatever problems they’ll face, after all there is no such thing as a perfect relationship, they can still rest assure they walked into this with open eyes.  
  
Billy smiles as he feels the calm, heavy breaths from Ned.  Soon he’ll carry his sleeping husband to bed and once the lunch is over tomorrow and their families have left, they’ll have horror movies and beers in bed, closing their bubble around them for the nerdiest and most ridiculous honeymoon ever.  
  
**THE END**  
  
  
  
Bathory ["Ring Of Gold"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efo9NQrMS7A)  
Bathory ["The Lake"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCUx5WKIZ1E)  
Bathory ["Hammerheart"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX1Swx9MJv8)


End file.
